The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same.
Integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices are susceptible to being damaged by snapback phenomena, which can cause exposure of the device to a breakdown voltage. As semiconductor devices become smaller and more densely integrated the potential for device breakdown increases.
The problems presented by increased integration and miniaturization are particularly troublesome in high voltage devices, where reliable device performance must be maintained at a high voltage while reducing the size of the devices. Manufacturing processes capable of producing highly integrated high voltage semiconductor devices are needed.
In the high voltage device, a breakdown phenomenon may occur by a snapback phenomenon. That is, in a high voltage transistor, when a voltage applied to a drain is increased, electrons travel from a source to the drain, causing an impact ionization phenomenon under a gate electrode spacer near the drain.
When the impact ionization phenomenon occurs, holes travel from an area under the spacer near the drain to the substrate, which may cause a current flowing from the drain to the source to increase abruptly. This may cause a snapback phenomenon, which may, in turn, result in a breakdown voltage property.